Category: Video Games

Some gaming gems get forgotten over time, some never get the chance to be discovered in the first place. Out of all of the games that instantly impressed me when I first played them and frustratingly faded into obscurity, Split/Second surely takes the pole position. Welcome to the third installment of my ongoing column, Forgotten Gems!

Black Rock Rocked

If you’ve never played Split/Second and you’re into arcade racers, know that it’s not too late. Largely forgotten — or rather, unknown — it may be, but it’s still easy to find and play (see bottom of this article). Split/Second was the brainchild of Black Rock Studio, a company formerly known as Pixel Planet, then Black Rock Studio, then Climax Brighton, then Climax Racing, then… Black Rock Studio again.

And as you may have guessed, the studio’s story doesn’t have a happy ending. Acquired by Disney in 2006, Black Rock had established itself as a racing game specialist with the MotoGP and ATV Offroad Fury series for THQ and Sony, respectively. Added to Disney Interactive’s growing portfolio of developers, Black Rock was going to be a cornerstone of a new Disney gaming initiative that went beyond kids and family entertainment. Disney’s ambitious plans also included bringing Avalanche Studios, Wideload, Propaganda Games, and Warren Spector’s Junction Point Studios into the fold – with Black Rock doing what it’s done best and laser-focused on developing great racing games.

And that it did. While Black Rock was shut down in 2011 and its talented team scattered to other development studios, it managed to create two racing games under Disney that didn’t just impress our reviewers back then, but hold up perfectly well to modern scrutiny. Its first game, Pure, is an excellent ATV racer released in 2008, but it’s the second game, Split/Second, that still holds a special place in my heart today and doesn’t have a worthy successor – actual or spiritual – to date.

Michael Bay Adventure Racing

Released for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC in 2010, Split/Second is a rare breed of “disaster racer”. A game where the environment – and its gradual destruction – is every bit as important as the four-wheeled opposition. It’s a bit as if Roland Emmerich made a Need for Speed game, crossed with Michael Bay’s take on Beetle Adventure Racing. Nearly every race is doused in spectacular, perpetual sunsets, only to serve as the backdrop for over-the-top pyrotechnics and Avengers-level urban destruction. Towers topple, dams burst, airplanes crash, and entire railroad bridges buckle under onslaughts of explosions that send train cars flying everywhere. Two console generations later, it’s still visually impressive, even if the entire affair runs at 30 frames per second. Take a look:

The gameplay centers around a TV competition show that has racers square off in 12 seasons of races amidst carefully orchestrated destruction. Cars build up a “power play” meter by drifting and drafting and can then use that precious energy to trigger environmental hazards to take out the other drivers. These range from having helicopters drop bombs, construction equipment swinging into the road, to major chain reactions that can alter the course of the tracks entirely. For example, a toppled tower may become a ramp to rooftop shortcuts, an ocean liner can be knocked off its drydock into the raceway, or an entire city block can be detonated to bury the racing leaders under falling rubble.

Watching this destruction unfold onscreen is a little bit like seeing a kid with overactive imagination play with their favorite toys. Cars will fly.

On top of that, there’s multiplayer, a kicking disaster movie soundtrack by Marc Canham, a campaign structure that invites replays to unlock new cars, elimination races, and even challenge missions that have you try and dodge missile attacks from a helicopter or survive a chase with giant trucks dropping explosive barrels.

So what went wrong? Everything seemed lined up for Split/Second’s inevitable success. When we first played Split/Second at the Game Developers Conference in 2009, we were already smitten, and covered the game’s progress over the months that followed. Disney Interactive seemed to have high confidence in the game as well, providing our team with lots of opportunities to play the game – and even delaying its launch to grant the development team a few extra months to polish the game. The game shipped to positive reviews and players quickly discovered that the ending of Split/Second directly teased a sequel and promised: “to be continued…”

There was no sequel. A year later, MotorStorm: Apocalypse arrived from racing-focused Black Rock competitor Evolution Studios, which had been acquired by Sony in 2007. Though not as well-received, the game likewise combined racing with screen-shaking disasters. Like Black Rock, Evolution is no more, shut down and disbanded after it shipped its final racing game, Driveclub. Some former Black Rock staff worked on Electric Square’s mobile game Detonation Racing, which clearly shows some Split/Second DNA. Today, the closest thing to Split/Second is likely the Forza Horizon series, though its brand of racing action is a tad more rooted in realism – while many pinatas have been hurt in FH5, even the Hot Wheels expansion and the Eliminator races don’t end with smoking husks of cars smashed by a wrecking ball. In the end, there’s certainly no major racer that produces sweaty palms and blows up its stages quite so beautifully as the original.

Split/Second’s ultimate undoing was likely a shift in strategy for Disney to focus on “smaller” and a return to character-based games. While Michael Bay was still blowing up things on the big screen, the decade’s mobile gaming frenzy ensured that Swampy the Alligator was a better bet for Disney than investing in AAA racing games with $20 million budgets and two-year development cycles. Split/Second reportedly sold 100,000 units in its first month – not bad for a brand-new racing brand, but no doubt way below the publisher’s expectations. Where’s My Water?, on the other hand, was downloaded more than a million times in that same timeframe that same year. In hindsight, it is and remains way more “Disney”.

Where can you play Split/Second Today?

Split/Second was denied the lasting success of arcade racing series like Need for Speed or Forza Horizon, but it wasn’t for lack of a great idea and strong execution. If you missed it the first time around, you should absolutely play it today. I fired it up last week and was surprised how well it holds up visually – and how challenging and tense the entire experience is compared to many contemporary racers.

Skip the PSP and iPhone versions (not that you can still find the latter), they are different – and vastly inferior – games developed by other studios. Stick with the console and PC original from Black Rock. It’s available for $20 (and on sale right now for just $5) on the Xbox Game Store. It’s also on Steam, and it’s even included with PlayStation Plus Classic. The latter is no doubt a decent option if you’re already a subscriber with a fast network connection, though playing the game natively is still a vastly superior experience. There are some mild issues with the power play icons flickering on Xbox Series X/S that I don’t remember seeing on Xbox 360/PS3, but it’s still wonderful to have the ability to easily play the game as it was intended.

Peer Schneider (@PeerIGN on Twitter) is one of IGN Entertainment’s founders and has spent thousands of hours playing racing games over the last four decades. And he tells himself every week that she should probably stop playing Forza Horizon 5… next week.

“Greatness from Small Beginnings.” Engraved in Latin on the ring that hangs around the neck of series protagonist Nathan Drake, these four words have come to define Naughty Dog’s immensely popular Uncharted series. It’s a rather fitting catchphrase considering the franchise itself has grown significantly since its debut in 2008.

Whether it’s battling pirates in the depths of the Amazon Jungle or exploring hidden cities in the center of the Rub’ al Khali desert, Nathan Drake has had no shortage of daring adventures in the years following his PlayStation 3 debut. With so many entries in its universe, it’s easy to get lost deciphering Uncharted’s lengthy timeline. To help make sense of it, here’s a chronology of the full Uncharted game series, showing you the sequential order to play the games in.

Jump to:

• How to play in chronological order
• How to play by release order

How Many Uncharted Games Are There?

There are 8 Uncharted Games: Five on home console, two on PlayStation Vita and one on mobile. We won’t include two of these games as they don’t tell original stories and thus don’t affect the canon of the Uncharted universe. The entries not included are the PlayStation Vita spin-off card game, Uncharted: Fight for Fortune, and the mobile puzzle tie-in, Uncharted: Fortune Hunter.

There are also additions to the Uncharted universe in other media, including comics and novels. While these are canon, the list below will only cover the timeline set out by the games. The same goes for the 2022 Uncharted movie, which takes place in a reimagined version of the Uncharted universe.

It’s also worth noting that Uncharted’s later entries often cycle back and add new lore to the beginning of Nathan Drake’s story. While Uncharted 3 and 4 flash back to the beginning of the timeline, we’ve judged their position on the list based on when the bulk of the story takes place.

Uncharted Games in Chronological Order

These blurbs contain mild spoilers for each game, including characters, settings, and story beats.

1. Uncharted: Golden Abyss

The earliest adventure in the timeline and the first to reach a handheld console, PlayStation Vita’s Uncharted: Golden Abyss follows Nathan Drake’s journey to find the mythical city of Quivira.

Set in Panama a few years before Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, the tale opens with Drake joining his former friend, Jason Dante, to help excavate a dig site. It doesn’t take long to figure out that Dante has a shady deal with the leader of a group of local revolutionaries, Robert Guerro. Learning about Dante’s secret agreement, Drake abandons the dig and sets off on a new quest, teaming with Dante’s former partner: a treasure hunter named Marisa Chase.

Forming a tentative alliance, Chase reveals to Drake that she possesses an amulet given to her by her grandfather before he mysteriously vanished. The amulet appears to be the key to an ancient mystery revolving around Quivira. With this knowledge, the pair attempt to find the city and uncover its lost secrets while avoiding Dante, Guerro and the militia at the pair’s disposal.

Read our review of Uncharted: Golden Abyss.

2. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune

Taking place a couple of years later, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is the first mainline entry in the series, following Nate’s quest to track down the mythical city of El Dorado.

Beginning on a boat off the coast of Panama, Nate and ambitious reporter Elena Fisher find the coffin of famed adventurer and Nate’s alleged ancestor, Sir Francis Drake. Cracking it open, they discover the coffin doesn’t contain a body, but instead a diary documenting all of Francis Drake’s adventures. The final entry in the diary reveals that Francis Drake traveled to the Amazon Jungle in search of El Dorado; a city of untold riches.

Abandoning Elena back on shore, Drake and his partner Sully set off in search of the city, quickly learning they aren’t the only treasure hunters searching for it. Left stranded in the jungle after an explosive run-in with the villainous Gabriel Roman, Nate gets separated from Sully and reunites with Elena, beginning an adventure to defeat Roman and track down El Dorado.

Read our review of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.

3. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Two years after his hunt for El Dorado, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves sees Drake set out on a new adventure to find the legendary Cintamani Stone.

The story opens with Drake teaming with some old friends, Chloe Frazer and Harry Flynn, to steal a rare artifact from a museum in Istanbul. While raiding the museum, Drake and Flynn find a hidden map and learn the truth about a series of lost ships in Marco Polo’s fleet that never made it back to Persia. The historical explorer was using these ships to transport a rare object known as the Cintamani Stone from the mythical city of Shambala.

After their discovery, Flynn double-crosses Nate and steals the map, leaving him locked in a prison cell. Teaming with Chloe and Sully, Nate embarks on an adventure to track down Flynn, uncover the true mystery of Shambhala and find the Cintamani Stone. The trio’s journey takes them to Borneo, Nepal and the Himalayas, where they face a private army hellbent on securing the stone for their ruthless leader, Zoran Lazarević.

Read our review of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

4. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

Set a further two years later, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is the franchise’s third mainline adventure. It focuses on Nathan Drake’s pursuit of the Atlantis of the Sands in the Rub’ al Khali desert.

The beginning of the story sees Nate and Sully lock horns with a mysterious villain named Katherine Marlowe, who is after a discovery once tracked down by Sir Francis Drake in Arabia. This discovery is the mythical Atlantis of the Sands; a lost city located deep in the Rub’ al Khali desert that’s said to house unimaginable treasures.

As he learns more about the city and Marlowe’s reasons for wanting to find it, Drake begins to realize the hidden metropolis houses dark secrets. Forced to face his demons and reflect on his past, Nate teams with Sully and Elena to defeat Marlowe and uncover the truth behind the Atlantis of the Sands.

Read our review of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception.

5. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

Set three years after Drake’s Deception, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is the epic conclusion to Nathan Drake’s adventures, acting as a send-off to the charismatic treasure hunter. It sees Nate team up with his long-lost brother, Sam, and chase after the missing treasure of legendary pirate captain, Henry Avery.

The story begins with a newly-retired Nathan Drake settling into a normal life with his wife, Elena. Everything changes when Sam, who seemingly died during a prison escape in Panama, returns and offers Nate one last job: hunt down Captain Avery’s lost treasure. Enticed by his desire to return to a life of adventure, Nate lies to Elena and joins Sam, embarking on a globe-trotting journey to recover the missing gold.

However, it doesn’t take long for things to go south, with Nate and Sam going up against a rival treasure hunter known as Rafe and his ruthless business partner, Nadine Ross. As the adventure continues, we learn more about Nate’s relationship with Sam, as the pair’s loyalty is tested. The game’s ending seemingly fully wraps up Nathan Drake’s role as the protagonist of Uncharted, although doesn’t shut the door entirely on continuations of the franchise not led by Nathan Drake.

Read our review of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.

6. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

A standalone spin-off, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy sees Chloe Frazer take up the role of lead protagonist, teaming with Uncharted 4 villain, Nadine Ross. The story follows the unlikely duo’s attempt to find and recover the long-lost Tusk of Ganesh.

Set in India, the story opens with Chloe embarking on a personal mission, wanting to finally secure the Tusk of Ganesh after her father died pursuing it many years ago. Along the way, she forms a tentative alliance with Nadine and is attacked by the imposing Asav, who is using an army of revolutionaries to find the tusk and incite civil war.

Utilizing a semi-open-world format, Lost Legacy shows Chloe and Nadine forming a strong friendship as they hunt down the tusk and attempt to stop Asav. The game closes on an interesting note, leaving the door open for future Uncharted games with Chloe, Nadine and other side characters as the leads.

Read our review of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.

How to Play The Uncharted Games by Release Date

1. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (2007)
2. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009)
3. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (2011)
4. Uncharted: Golden Abyss (2012)
5. Uncharted: Fight for Fortune (2012)
6. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (2016)
7. Uncharted: Fortune Hunter (2016)
8. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (2017)

What’s Next for Uncharted?

Sony has yet to announce any new Uncharted games. The series’ popularity has recently reignited thanks to the release of Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Edition, which brought Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy to PlayStation 5 and PC. However, it appears Naughty Dog is currently done with the franchise and has no intention of revisiting it in the foreseeable future.

In a recent interview with Buzzfeed, co-president of Naughty Dog Neil Druckmann stated that the studio has “moved on” from the franchise. That said, the story has left the door open for a sequel, so Naughty Dog or another studio could always revisit it in the future.

In the meantime, video games aren’t the only medium where we might see Uncharted reappear. The strong box office returns of Uncharted’s movie adaptation suggest we could see Tom Holland suit up as Nathan Drake for a sequel in the coming years.